You'll beat it Sheridan, says CAMILLA TOMINEY

MY OWN wake-up call was coming home in an ambulance, bleeding profusely from the bridge of my nose.

The 34-year-old actress has had a lot to deal with recently, with her father having been diagnosed w

To this day I still have no idea what happened but that particular incident, among countless others, eventually led to me becoming teetotal.

Every morning I see that bump on my nose in the bathroom mirror and I thank my lucky stars I stopped drinking before it ruined my career and indeed, my life.

Because there were plenty of professional near misses, I can assure you.

Like the Sony Radio Awards ceremony when I had to be bundled into a taxi by Steve Punt from Punt and Dennis, or the time when I was so hungover covering a major royal event that I almost missed a live TV interview.

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Which is why I have been observing Sheridan Smith with genuine concern this past week.

While everyone is denying alcohol has played a part in her decision to take a four-week break from her West End show Funny Girl, it has the distinct whiff of one too many dry white wines about it.

I know the 34-year-old actress has had a lot to deal with recently, with her father having been diagnosed with cancer in March, not to mention the pressure of expectation on her reprising a role made famous by Barbra Streisand.

Theatre can be a lonely business – you’re off when everyone else is at work, and working while everyone else is tucked up in front of the telly.

With time between performances and rehearsals limited, it is hardly surprising so many stars of stage (and screen) have been known to spend their free time propping up a nearby bar.

But it would be a tragic waste of Sheridan’s talents if she were to become such a showbusiness cliché.

GETTY

Theatre can be a lonely business – you’re off when everyone else is at work

People think you have to be swigging from a bottle in a paper bag to be an alcoholic but actually if drinking is causing you problems, then you have a drink problem, end of story.

Booze makes some people unwind and others unravel.

I was in the latter category and by the look of Sheridan’s recent shenanigans, I’d say she’s of a similar disposition.

Or should that be “indisposition”?

GETTY

It would be a tragic waste of Sheridan’s talents if she were to become such a showbusiness cliché

As Graham Norton joked at Sunday night’s Baftas, when Sheridan was disappointed not to have won any awards for her critically acclaimed performance in The C-Word, the industry tends to play down alcohol-induced incidents, dressing them up as “a couple of glasses of technical difficulties”.

Indeed inebriated actors such as Oliver Reed, Richard Harris and Peter O’Toole found themselves lauded as hellraising “legends”, as if constantly being four-parts ****ed was something to be proud of.

But describing people with alcoholrelated illness as “tired and emotional” or suffering from “stress and exhaustion” only serves to perpetuate the myth that having one too many is no big deal when the reality is it’s the root cause.

BBC

If drinking is causing you problems, then you have a drink problem

I can hear it now: “Oh, she was only letting her hair down, give the girl a break,” but there is a big difference between social drinking and the kind of antisocial behaviour that results in you ranting at complete strangers on Twitter in the middle of the night.

There is nothing fun or indeed funny about a girl jeopardising her entire career for a night on the lash with the cast of Made In Chelsea.

Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps?

Oh, how we almost laughed.

Sheridan’s understudy Natasha Barnes will be keen to capitalise on her absence and who can blame her?

But if Smith wants a career as long and illustrious as the original Fanny Brice (at 74, Streisand’s still going strong), then she needs to spend the next few weeks facing her demons, not drowning her sorrows.

Sheridan – there is no point blaming the press, cyber-bullies or even your father’s illness for what has happened.

You say you are “not strong enough” but I’m telling you, you are.

If I can do it anyone can.

You simply need to start being honest with yourself.

If, as I suspect, alcohol is the common thread linking all of your problems, both professional and personal, then the time has come to clean up your act.